NBA: LAKERS 122, DENVER 103: It's a can't-miss night for L.A.

Then there are nights like Friday at Staples Center, when the basket must look like it's the size of the Pacific Ocean to the Lakers and all they have to do is toss the ball in its general vicinity and it seems to fall.

Literally, in one case.

Pau Gasol tried to throw a lob pass to teammate Antawn Jamison midway through the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets only to watch the ball skim off the rim and drop straight through the bottom of the net for two accidental points.

The Lakers were equal parts good and lucky during their 122-103 victory over the Nuggets in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997, with Dwight Howard rather than Kobe Bryant getting them pointed in the right direction.

"It's the way we want to play," coach Mike D'Antoni said after the Lakers set a season high for points in a game by setting season highs with 17 3-pointers on 34 attempts and 33 assists. "We can't revert to the old stuff."

Memories of their 79-77 loss Tuesday to the Indiana Pacers faded by halftime, with the Lakers scoring at will against Denver. Their offense was as varied Friday as it was one-dimensional Tuesday, when Bryant scored 40 points.

Howard's first-quarter flurry was followed by Jodie Meeks' scalding touch from beyond the 3-point arc in the second, which was followed by Antawn Jamison's scoring eruption in the third. Bryant hardly broke a sweat in the fourth.

The Lakers led by as many as 21 points in the final period.

Jamison scored a team-leading 33 points on 13-for-19 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in a reserve role. Meeks added 21 points, going 5 for 5 on 3 s to start the second quarter. Howard scored 16 of his 28 points in the first quarter. He also had 20 rebounds.

Bryant scored 14 points and added eight assists.

"It's being patient and knowing eventually the things I could do on the court would come out and I could contribute to this team," Jamison said. "D'Antoni has done a great job in giving me the confidence to go out there and compete."

Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 19 points.

After a high-scoring rout Sunday of the Mavericks in Dallas, followed by a low-scoring loss to the Pacers on Tuesday at Staples Center and then Friday's free-flowing home blowout of the Nuggets, just who are the Lakers (8-8) after 16 games this season?

"I have no idea, I have no idea," D'Antoni said, repeating his words for emphasis.

Gasol started things with an 18-foot jump shot and Howard ended it with only his second career 3-pointer, a 24-foot jumper from the right corner with 9.8 seconds left. Howard turned and sprinted toward the other end of the court, laughing.

"Today was a good day," D'Antoni said in the understatement of the evening.

The good times started early, with the Lakers finding Howard again and again in the opening minutes. He scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in the first quarter, helping the Lakers to a 34-27 lead.

Of course, getting the ball into Howard's hands is never a bad move.

Howard scored on a running hook in the opening minutes and then flexed his muscles for the rest of his best quarter since the Lakers acquired him from the Orlando Magic in a multi-player and multi-team trade in August.

Was he simply warming up for a matchup with his old team Sunday?

Maybe, but perhaps the Lakers also saw a weakness in Nuggets center Kosta Koufos and exploited him by putting Howard in point-blank range in what sure felt like a must-win game going into Sunday's emotional showdown with the Magic.

Howard didn't score in the second quarter, but the Lakers' scoring rampage continued. Meeks did a pretty fair imitation of Bryant in the second, going 5 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arc and scoring 15 points in the period.

Jamison added 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, and for once the Lakers' second unit had something good to say about the game. By halftime, the Lakers had four players in double figures - Howard, Meeks, Jamison and Bryant - and they led 71-57.